I Am Hooligan
It’s funny, I spotted I Am Hooligan at the dollar tree, under the name Gangland Hooligans. Still, that word “Hooligan” lept right out at me and I knew it was one of Steven M Smith’s films. I’ve got to say, after watching it, I like the original name I Am Hooligan far better. It’s a better description of what you’re going to encounter here, and I can just imagine that if I picked this up without understanding what I was getting into, I would’ve been fairly disappointed with the lack of mobsters and crime syndicate action going on here.
The story centers around Justin, a young 20 something who’s kind of adrift at the moment. Not really knowing what his purpose is, not really fitting in anywhere… Just sort of existing in the British projects with his mother and wife beating father. His perspective on life all changes when one of his friends, Kevin, a football hooligan, invites him to hook up with his mates and be part of the gang. There is an instant acceptance as they embrace him into their group and you can 
immediately see where this is going. Soccer matches and fights
immediately see where this is going. Soccer matches and fights every weekend.
We move on to planning at the bar. They’re planning a trip up north to start fights with rival team supporters, and they want him to come along. In the meantime, Justin, now calling himself Jay begins to alienate himself more and more from the familiar faces around him, old friends become strangers.
There is some internal struggles, trying to worry about who he’s becoming. Especially after the initiation, which is to simply beat up the first person who comes through a well used alleyway. It makes for a compelling drama as he sinks further into the life. Still, you can see why he’s drifting into this world. Back home at “the estate“, life is dreary, and his father is horrible. His parents are miserable because of 
it and he just wants to escape into a different universe; someplace where he’s relevant and needed. But the real question is, what happens when things go too far? At the end of the day, Justin may find that leaving the life is just a bit more difficult than he ever dreamed, and that even when you walk away from the life, a bit of it still sticks with you.
it and he just wants to escape into a different universe; someplace where he’s relevant and needed. But the real question is, what happens when things go too far? At the end of the day, Justin may find that leaving the life is just a bit more difficult than he ever dreamed, and that even when you walk away from the life, a bit of it still sticks with you.I came to Steven M. Smith for his horror work. That’s what caught my eye. But there’s some directors who have other sorts of stuff on the résumé that you end up liking even more. It’s kind of like exploring Don Coscarelli‘s filmography because of Phantasm, and then from there discovering Jim the world’s greatest and Kenny and Company (Which by the way, if you pair those two with the first phantasm movie… You end up with a thoroughly satisfying thematic trilogy. They fit together in ways they have no right to).
This is what I’m discovering with Smith’s Hooligan movies. I Am Hooligan really feels like the apex of this genre for him. He finally successfully manages to marry the pathos with the drama and the gritty underbelly that he’s been trying to mix together in previous attempts like Essex Boys or even other fare like Time of Her Life. He gets it very right here. I care about all of these characters, and you feel Justin‘s desperation to get out of the estates. You want him to pull himself out of the slums, get together with a girl, and get out of the thug life.
If you see this, either by this name, or the American release Gangland Hooligans, this is a definite buy. This needs to be in your collection.
Argo City Comics 